This “research highlight” addresses the crucial need for breeding high-yielding, climate-smart and stable wheat and barley varieties with desirable traits such as early flowering, high yield, stability and enhanced kernel characteristics for dry areas. Every year the UJ-Small Grains Breeding Program evaluates hundreds of wheat and barley genotypes produced from crosses between elite varieties and local Jordanian landraces. The produced material is evaluated across different environments across the country. Furthermore, modern molecular tools are applied to enable the precise selection of genetic material carrying the desirable traits and for the mapping of QTLs associated with them. The outcomes of this program offer valuable insights for wheat and barley breeders aiming to develop high-yielding and stable varieties for dry areas, with many of them standing out as a promising choice for farmers in dryland farming systems.

https://www.ju.edu.jo/Lists/ResearchSpotLights/Disp_Form.aspx?ID=8​​